Semantic roles/verb subclasses Flashcards
Agent
is conscious, acts with volition (on purpose), performs an action that has a physical, visible effect, and is a controller of the event.
- often the subject in a clause
Patient
an entity that undergoes a visible change in state
- often the direct object
Instrument
Something an Agent acts upon so that it accomplished the action
For example:
‘The keys’ open the door to the main office.
I opened the door with ‘this key’.
Participants
the participants can be divided into groups - participants grouped together behave in a similar way or show similar properties
Semantic roles
roles played by the participants in a scene
Force
an entity that instigates an action but not consciously or voluntarily
For example:
‘Hurricane-force winds’ demolished much of the town.
‘The Plague’ killed off all the tomatoes.
Theme
a participant that moves, or is the locus of an action or property that doesn’t undergo any change
For example:
‘The balloon’ floated out of the window.
‘The glass’ is on the table.
I always liked ‘this glass’.
Experiencer
an entity that receives a sensory impression.
For example:
‘Many people’ fear snakes.
‘The rhesus monkey’ had never seen snow before.
Their resourcefulness struck ‘her’ as admirable.
Recipient
an animate destination of a moving object.
For example:
He spared ‘me’ his usual sob story.
I paid ‘my landlord’ the rent.
Goal
The endpoint of a trajectory of motion.
For example:
Lucky raced to ‘the edge of the forest’.
Send the package to ‘France’.
Beneficiary
the entity whose benefit the action was performed
For example:
David filled in the form for ‘ his grandmother’.
They baked ‘me’ a cake.
Argument structure
- An arrangement of semantic roles and grammatical relations (subject, direct object, indirect object, etc).
- Every verb as used in a context has its grammatical structure.
(1) ‘My favorite snail’ died. (one participant = one argument)
(2) ‘Brutus’ stabbed ‘Ceasar’. (two participants = two arguments)
an argument (within semantic roles)
a participant that has a semantic role
Intransitive verbs (within semantic roles)
verbs that require only one argument.
(the only argument has the syntactic function of the subject and can have the semantic role of Agent, Patient, Theme or Experiencer)
Transitive verbs (within semantic roles)
-Verbs that require two arguments, syntactically they are subject and direct object.
- Very often the subject has the semantic role of the Agent and the object - the Patient.
(1) Uncle Scrooge (Subject/Agent) tore down his house (Direct object/Patient).
Situation types (within argument structure)
states, processes, motion, position, actions, action-processes, production verbs, cognition, sensation, emotions, utterance, and manipulation.
States
situations with no change and no action.
Arguments: Theme
(1a) ‘We’ [Theme] have everything you want.
(1b) ‘Madam Pomfrey’ [Theme] is sort of a nurse.
Processes
situations that involve change over time.
Arguments: Patient
(2) ‘Our friendship’ [Patient] degenerated over time.
Motion
situations that involve movement.
Arguments: Theme/Agent?, Path, Goal, Starting point
(3a) Let’s get out of ‘here’. (‘here’ is the starting point)
(3b) ‘Elvis’ [agent] has left ‘the building’ [Starting Point]
Position
A situation where the static position of an object is described.
Arguments: Theme, Position
(1) I was the assistant ‘that’ [theme] sat ‘in the end zone about 15 rows up’ [position].
Actions
Situations initiated by a conscious agent or
unconscious force, they may involve an affected
participant.
Arguments: Agent, Force, Patient, Theme
(2a) ‘The crowd of more than 17,000’ [Agent] sang ‘the chorus to the music of “ Livin’ on a prayer”’ [Theme].
(2b) …’he’ [Agent] sat down with his agent and decided that…
Action-processes
situations that are initiated by a conscious Agent or unconscious Force and which affect a Patient.
Arguments: Agent, Force, Patient
(1) ‘Chris’ [Agent] dented ‘the bumper’ [Patient] on his car.
Production verbs
situations describing some entity coming into existence.
(Typical verbs: build, make, ignite, create, form, etc.)
Arguments: Agent, Product
(2) A connoisseur of grotesques, ‘he’ [Agent] painted ‘glorious, glowing angels’ [Product].
Cognition
relates to such concepts as know, think,
understand, learn, believe, etc.
Arguments: Cognizer, Source (Theme?)
(1) ‘We’ [Cognizer] know ‘the truth’ [Theme].
Sensation
situations describing sensory impressions.
Arguments: Experiencer, Source (Theme?) e.g.
(2) …because ‘the air’ [Source] had smelled so sweet to ‘me’ [Esperiencer].
Emotion
situations where emotion is being experienced.
Arguments: Experiencer, Source (Theme?)
(3) ‘Many people’ [Experiencer] fear ‘snakes’ [Source].
Utterance
situations where someone/something says something.
(typical verbs: speak, talk, say, tell, ask, state, imply, etc)
Arguments: Agent, Theme
(1a) “Hasta la vista, baby” [Theme], proclaimed ‘Terminator’ [Agent].
(1b) ‘We’ [Agent] discussed ‘the few remaining problems’ [Theme].
Manipulation
situations that express concepts that involve some force to get somebody to do something.
(typical verbs: force, compel, urge, make, etc.)
Arguments: Agent, Force, Patient
(2) It was ‘this vision of her’ [Force] that compelled ‘him’ [Patient] to move from France back to America.
The forms of English verbs
- an English lexical verb had 5 forms:
- bare form (swing, cause, hit)
-s form (swings, causes, hits)
-Past tense form (swung, caused, hit)
-Past participle (swung, caused, hit)
-Present participle (swinging, causing, hitting)